Sunday, August 12, 2012

Vintage Wedding Dresses

I'm always interested in vintage things and adore fashion. Therefore, I was so glad that the National Museum of Singapore brought in The Wedding Dress: 200 Years Of Wedding Fashion From The Victoria And Albert Museum, London.

As usual, I like to post a blog about places that I visited as a brief brochure for my own reference.

This is the latest exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore, featuring 36 exquisite wedding dresses, along with fashion accessories.

Silk wedding dress with detachable sleeves and embroidered muslin wedding dress. The detachable sleeves are quite interesting. "The dress has short sleeves, but it has been displayed with the matching over-sleeves worn by the bride to make it suitable for a church wedding."

Cotton print wedding dress and floral silk wedding dress. "The washable printed cotton dresses were chosen by women with limited money that were more practical than white while the fashionable floral with high-quality manufacture suggest that it was worn by a bride with access to the latest fashions and a skilful dressmaker."

Satin wedding dress embellished with Honiton lace. Lace veil with orange-blossom wreath and leather ankle boots. "The bride would have worn the veil attached to the back of her head, not over her face - a fashion that came later."

Bridal style in the 19th century and artificial orange blossom. Bridegroom's frock coat and trousers.

Beaded dress with influence of evening wear and silk brocade and leather shoes. "Its materials, layered construction, and scalloped hemline were the height of evening fashion. The bow, or 'true lovers' knot', on its train features on other wedding trains of the time."

Printed satin dress with a hat and matching reversible coat. Gold velvet dress for winter weddings. Nightdress from a bride's trousseau and silk camisole. Modern dress with orange-blossom choker and divided train.

One of the main attractions of this exhibition is this embroidered silk satin dress with a 2.7 train worn by the late British socialite Margaret Whigham.

There is also a section that displays wedding dresses worn by Singapore brides of different ethnic groups.

I had a good time looking into details of these beautiful dresses. My brief brochure can never capture every single dress in detail, so if you have the interest, go visit the museum for a greater satisfaction.